05/24/2023
A British artist has signed over his collection of Cypriot antiquities to the museum of Kykkos Monastery after the intervention of Tasoula Hadjitofi, founder of Walk of Truth charity for the protection of cultural heritage.
The agreement was signed at the Dependency of Kykkos in Nicosia on Monday between the collector, David JD Johnson, Metropolitan Nikiforos of Kykkos and Tillirias and Hadjitofi, on behalf of “Walk of Truth”.
“At first I was wondering if I could give it to a museum in the UK. It did not take me long to realise that I must give it back to Cyprus and this was a kind of justice, a small restoration of what had been stolen,” Johnson, told the Sunday Mail, referring to his gradual realisation that although he had bought the artefacts from dealers, he felt they did not really belong to him.
During the ceremony, Johnson handed over to the Metropolitan a large Cypriot flagon from around 2100-2000 BC to mark his and Hadjitofi’s intentions for the repatriation of the 147-piece collection.
Most of the collection dates back to the Bronze Age (3rd century AD) with some pieces from the Early Iron Age (around 10,000BC). The pieces include figurines, vases, amphoras and flasks.
The collection is to remain complete and not dispersed and to be used for academic research, in which Johnson himself will contribute.
The repatriation will take place in stages over a period of several years to allow Kykkos Monastery the necessary time to create the proper space in its museum. The collector might continue to enlarge the collection during that time.
“It will be hard to be parted from my collection. I have lived with it around me for a few years… the leaving of the last of them will be a wrench. This is why I need a few years to get used to the idea,” says the 71-year-old collector.
The artist started collecting back in 2013 after purchasing some ancient coins from a museum he visited. “I had always been fascinated by time but I never intended to become a collector.”
After a few months he started buying only Cypriot pieces and started studying Cypriot history.
“I fell in love with Cyprus’ past before I had even seen her beautiful mountains or met her lovely people.”
In 2015, he came into money after selling his mother’s house, which enabled him to purchase more expensive pieces.
“I discovered a dealer online advertising antiquities, and I was lucky that he happened to be honest and very knowledgeable as he had studied archaeology at UCL. I learned a lot from him,” he said.
He has also bought pieces from major dealers, especially in the UK and from major auction houses.
Hadjitofi, meanwhile, has been recovering and repatriating antiquities looted from Cyprus for 30 years and in 2017 published a memoir about her quest called “Icon hunter”. Originally from Famagusta, she settled in the Netherlands after 1974.
